Co-Presidents at Known Studios on the Power of Partnership
Co-founder relationships can often be fraught. Here’s the secret to our success.
My partnership with Mark Feldstein actually predates our co-founding of Known by about 21 years. Back in 2000, when we started our first agency, Stun, we actually didn’t know each other all that well. In fact, we had only met twice in person, but instinctively we knew we had to join forces. Like in some of the best relationships, when you know, you know. We quickly realized we could harness our shared set of values and sensibility, and most importantly for us, our shared sense of humor and love of pop culture to create something special. And for 20 years, we did just that — building a creative marketing shop in LA that has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and would go on to become one of Hollywood’s top marketing agencies and commercial production companies. In 2020, Stun merged with data science firm Schireson Associates and brand strategy boutique Blackbird to form Known, a first-of-its-kind modern marketing agency that brings together the best of both worlds: art and science. And today we’re proud to lead Known’s creative studios division.
From our very first office — which was quite literally the size of a closet in a Dick Wolf production studio (which was sometimes used for crime scene reenactments!) — we’ve learned a lot about what it means to develop a winning partnership that lasts. In those very early, very scrappy days, we had a shared vision for our success. And even though our startup didn’t yet have the gloss and sheen at the time, we never got discouraged by our humble beginnings. And, more importantly, we kept our partnership at the core of everything we did as we grew. Recently at Inbound we shared what’s worked for us so anyone can make their partnerships stronger and their business the best it can be:
Build solid relationships.
It sounds obvious, but many co-founders split up because they don’t prioritize building solid relationships with each other or their clients. It takes energy and investment to make sure your partnership can weather the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Start by building a relationship that’s deeply rooted in trust. There has to be both intimacy and multidimensional layers that aren’t just about work. When we started Stun, all we had were our relationships — to each other and a handful of clients. And, over the years, we’ve learned that what helps nurture those relationships is being reciprocal. It wasn’t just about our friends sending us work. We were always looking for opportunities that we could send to clients so we were setting them up to succeed. In all relationships, you want to seek out these moments for it to feel like a true win-win.
It takes energy and investment to make sure your partnership can weather the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
Believe in your combined power.
In order for a partnership to work, you have to demonstrate that there’s equal dedication to the mission from day one. One person can’t feel like they’re carrying a larger burden. This has been critical to our success. There was a trust that was formed between us from the very beginning because we proved to each other that we were in this together, shoulder-to-shoulder. That’s partly why we have the same titles. Our core strengths as writers and directors are very similar, so we’re often working on the same things. And while this close-proximity dynamic and dance has been successful, we also have to take time apart (it helps that we live on opposite sides of LA).
Divide and conquer.
Over time, we naturally got to a place where one person would take the lead on certain projects. And we quickly saw the benefit because it allowed us to scale and do twice as many projects at once. We found that we could be exponentially more productive than if we were always doing everything together. This was only possible because of the trust we’ve built and our shared belief system in how we work. While every partnership is going to look different — and what works for us might not work for you — the goal is to get to a place where the trust is so deep that you’re able to scale your efforts knowing the other person is working just as hard as you are. That’s when you’ll know you’ve done it right.
Read more: Getting To Known You: Aya Baeshean, VP, Head of Design
